Peripheral card with hidden test pins

ABSTRACT

A peripheral card includes a circuit board, various circuit elements on the circuit board, a set of user terminals, a set of test terminals, and an enclosure that covers a portion of the circuit board and the circuit elements. The enclosure does not cover the user terminals and test terminals. After the peripheral card is tested, the test terminals are covered with a conformal contact coating in order to prevent access to the test terminals.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______,“Method For Efficiently Producing Removable Peripheral Cards,” filedJun. 23, 2003, Hem P. Takiar, Atty. Docket SDK1P014/370, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to technology for peripheral cards.

2. Description of the Related Art

Memory cards are relatively small removable cards that provide datastorage. In most cases, but not required in all cases, the memory cardis integrated circuit based. These memory cards plug into or arereceived by ports or connectors on electronic devices, includingcomputing devices, cameras, mobile telephones, PDAs and other devices.One example of a memory card uses non-volatile memory. ElectricalErasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM) and flash memory areamong the most popular non-volatile semiconductor memories. Someexamples of memory cards includes CompactFlash™, MMC™, Smart Media,Secure Digital™, and the Memory Stick.

A flash memory card is a memory card that has one or more arrays offlash memory cells. Some flash memory cards also include bit linedecoders, word line decoders, a state machine, a controller and othercircuitry. In many cases the controller will be implemented in a firstsemiconductor die, while the array of flash memory cells, bit linedecoders, word line decoders, and state machine are implemented in asecond semiconductor die. Over time, flash memory arrays have increaseddensity by shrinking the size of an individual memory cell and byimplementing greater numbers of memory cells in the array.

To maintain product reliability and customer satisfaction, manufacturersof memory cards will test the memory cards during the manufacturingprocess in order to determine if there are any manufacturing defects. Inmany cases, the user I/O pins on the memory card connect to thecontroller. However, a test performed during manufacturing typicallyseeks to directly access the memory array (bypassing the controller) inorder to test each cell in the memory array. Additionally, more pinswill allow for more efficient and complete testing of the relevantcomponents of the memory card. Thus, many memory cards will include testpins, in addition to the user I/O pins. To protect the memory card fromelectrostatic discharge relative to the test pins and to protect thedata on the card from being wrongfully accessed via the test pins, thetest pins should not be exposed to the user of the memory card after themanufacturing process.

One example of a memory card is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,410,355(the '355 patent”), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Inthe '355 patent, a memory card using flash memory is manufactured with aset of test pins at one edge of the memory card. After the memory cardis tested, the test pins are cut off of the memory card and the memorycard is then packaged. While the device of the '355 patent has workedwell, there is a need for an improvement. First, the test pins that arecut off use real estate on the circuit board. There is a trend toincrease density on circuit boards; therefore, it would be advantageousto not use a portion of the circuit board for components that will notship to customers. Second, if the memory card fails in the field, thereare no test pins to test the device in order to determine why the memorycard failed. Such tests following device failure allow a manufacturer ofmemory cards to improve device reliability and the manufacturingprocess.

Another example of a memory card using flash memory is the recentlyreleased Mini-SD Card. In one commercial version of the Mini-SD Card,the memory array is mounted on the top of the circuit board and thecontroller is mounted on the memory array. User I/O pins and test pinsare formed on the bottom of the circuit board. After the memory card istested, the circuit board (with the controller, memory array and othercomponents) are enclosed by attaching a top lid to a bottom lid. Boththe bottom lid and the top lid are made of a hard plastic, and aremanufactured from a mold prior to enclosing the circuit board. After thetop and bottom lids are made, the top lid is ultra- sonically welded tothe bottom lid to enclose the circuit board (with the controller, memoryarray and other components). The bottom lid has an opening for the userI/O pins. The bottom lid does not have an opening for the test pins;therefore, the test pins are not exposed to users. There will be a smallair gap between the bottom lid and the bottom of the circuit board Whilethis design works well, the top and bottom lids are relatively expensiveto manufacture. Additionally, the lids are relatively bulky which limitshow small the memory cards can be manufactured. The trend in theindustry to further decrease the size of memory cards.

Thus, there is a need to provide for test pins for a memory card withoutthe limitations described above. Similar issues exist with other typesof peripheral cards, such as peripheral cards that implement wirelesscommunication devices, GPS devices, cellular devices, networkinterfaces, modems, disk storage systems, and other devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, roughly described, pertains to technology for aperipheral card with hidden test pins. One embodiment of the presentinvention includes a circuit board, circuit elements on said circuitboard, a set of user terminals on the circuit board that are incommunication with at least a subset of the circuit elements, a set oftest terminals on said circuit board that are in communication with oneor more of the circuit elements, an enclosure that covers a portion ofthe circuit board without covering the set of user terminals and the setof test terminals, and a conformal contact coating on a first surface ofthe circuit board covering the test terminals and preventing access tothe test terminals.

One embodiment of manufacturing such a peripheral card includes addingcircuit elements to a circuit board, where the circuit board (at somepoint in time) includes a set of test terminals. One or more of thecircuit elements are tested using the test terminals. The test terminalsare subsequently covered with a conformal contact coating in order toprevent access to the test terminals. In one implementation, the testterminals are covered with a conformal contact coating by applying aliquid directly to a first surface of the circuit board. In anotherimplementation, the test terminals are covered with a conformal contactcoating by applying a film directly to a first surface of said circuitboard.

Some embodiments of the present invention will include manufacturing theperipheral cards a batch at a time, followed by singulation of the batchinto individualized memory cards. The present invention allows for thecovering of the test pins before or after singulation. For example, oneimplementation includes the steps of adding circuit elements to aplurality of circuit boards of a strip (each of the plurality of circuitboards includes a set of test terminals), separating the connectedcircuit boards, testing the circuit elements of the circuit boards usingthe test terminals, and applying a conformal contact coating on a firstsurface of each of the circuit boards. The conformal contact coatingcovers the test terminals and prevents access to the test terminals suchthat a particular circuit board has its test terminals covered afterthat particular circuit board has been tested.

The present invention can be applied to the manufacture of memory cards,including flash memory cards. The technology disclosed herein can alsobe applied to other peripheral cards. For example, the present inventioncan be used with removable peripheral cards that include wirelesscommunication devices, GPS devices, cellular devices, networkinterfaces, modems, disk storage systems, and other devices. The presentinvention is not limited to any one type of peripheral card and is meantto be used with many different types of peripheral cards.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willappear more clearly from the following description in which thepreferred embodiment of the invention has been set forth in conjunctionwith the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bottom of a memory card according toa first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the top of the memory card according tothe first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a first side view of the memory card according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the top of a memory card according to asecond embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the top of a memory card according to athird embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the top of a memory card according to afourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the bottom of the memory card accordingto the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the top of a memory card according to afifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the bottom of the memory card accordingto the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the memory card according to the fifthembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a top view of a circuit board used for various embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 12 is a bottom view of the circuit board used for variousembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a cross section of an exemplar circuit board.

FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view of one embodiment of a circuit boardand various components on the circuit board during the manufacturingprocess.

FIG. 15 is a cross sectional view of one embodiment of a circuit boardand various components encapsulated on the circuit board during themanufacturing process.

FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view of one embodiment of a circuit boardand various components on the circuit board, with a conformal contactcoating applied to a surface of the circuit board.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart describing one embodiment of a process formanufacturing a memory card according to the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a plan view of a strip of memory cards prior to singulation.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the top of the memory card according toan additional embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the bottom of the memory card accordingto the embodiment of FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the top of the memory card according toan additional embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the bottom of the memory card accordingto the embodiment of FIG. 21.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1-10 depict various embodiments of a memory card. For example,FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bottom of a memory card according toa first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspectiveview of the top of the memory card according to the first embodiment ofthe present invention. FIG. 3 is a side view of the memory cardaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention. The memorycard of FIGS. 1-3 includes a top surface 10, a bottom surface, a frontsurface 12, a back surface 14 and two side surfaces. One of the sidesurfaces has an angle portion 16. Top surface 10 has a raised portion 18adjacent to back surface 14. Raised portion 18 allows the memory card tobe more easily grabbed by a human hand (or mechanical device) and alsoprovides additional room to store passive devices such as capacitorsand/or resistors. Note that raised portion 18 of FIG. 1 has a curvedprofile. The bottom surface includes a first portion 22 and a secondportion 24. Second portion 24 is raised from first portion 22. Firstportion 22 includes a set of user I/O pins 26 and corresponds to abottom surface of a circuit board, as discussed below.

In one implementation, the memory card is 12 mm wide and 15 mm long. Theangled portion is at a forty five degree angle. The thickness of thememory card is 0.9 mm at second portion 24, 1.0 mm at raised portion 18and 0.8 mm at first portion 22. In another embodiment, the thickness ofthe memory card is 0.8 mm at second portion 24, 1.0 mm at raised portion18 and 0.7 mm at first portion 22. In other embodiments, otherdimensions can also be used.

In one embodiment, a label will be placed on the top surface. This labelcan be a sticker or can be ink which is pad printed.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the top of a memory card according to asecond embodiment of the present invention. The second embodimentincludes a raised portion 1 8a that has a straight profile. FIG. 5 is aperspective view of the top of a memory card according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention which does not include a raisedportion 18.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the top of a memory card according to afourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective viewof the bottom of the memory card according to the fourth embodiment ofthe present invention. The fourth embodiment includes notch 30. Thenotch is used to secure the card in position when connected to a hostdevice.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the top of the memory card according toa fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a perspectiveview of the bottom of the memory card according to the fifth embodimentof the present invention. FIG. 10 is a side view of the memory cardaccording to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The fifthembodiment of the present invention implements a different orientationthan the other embodiments described above. For example, the top surfaceof the memory card in the fifth embodiment includes a raised portion 54adjacent back edge 52, which runs along the length as opposed to thewidth of the memory card. The memory card of the fifth embodimentincludes a front surface 50 that also runs along the length of thememory card. The bottom surface of the memory card includes a firstportion 54 and second portion 56. First portion 54 includes a set ofuser I/O pins 58 and corresponds to a bottom surface of a circuit board,as discussed below. Second portion 56 is raised from first portion 54.

FIG. 11 provides a top view of a circuit board used for variousembodiments of the present invention. FIG. 11 shows circuit board 200.Mounted on circuit board 200 are first die 202 and second die 204. Inone embodiment, die 202 includes a flash memory array with associatedcircuitry and die 204 includes a controller. In some embodiments, thememory card may include more than one memory array. In embodiments thatinclude a peripheral card other than a memory card, the dies can becomponents other than or in addition to memory arrays and controllers.Note that die 202 includes contacts 212 (e.g. die bond pads) which areused to connect die 202 to other components. Similarly, die 204 includescontacts 214 (e.g. die bond pads) to connect die 204 to othercomponents. Circuit board 200 also includes passive components 220,which could include capacitors and/or resistors. Circuit board 200includes a number of conductive traces (not shown) which interconnectthe devices mounted on the circuit board. Connecting regions (notdepicted) are provided on the circuit board so that the leads from diescan be connected to the circuit board by conventional wire bonding. Inother embodiments, other means different than wire bonding can be usedto connect the dies to the circuit board.

FIG. 12 shows the bottom of circuit board 200. In one embodiment, thebottom of circuit board 200 includes user I/O pins 230 and test pins232. FIG. 12 depicts eight user I/O pins 230 and sixteen test pins 232;however, different numbers of pins can also be used. The test pins 232can include data pins and/or power pins. The test pins are used to testone or more of the components of the memory card. For example, the testpins can be used to test each of the cells of the memory array. The userI/O pins 230 are used by a host device connected to the memory card inorder to communicate with the memory card. For example, the user I/Opins 230 can be used to communicate with the controller on die 204. Notethat in order to have a small package, one embodiment of the presentinvention includes mounting the integrated circuits on a first surfaceof the circuit board (e.g. the top surface) and forming the terminals(user I/O pins and test pins) on a conductive layer on another surfaceof the circuit board (e.g. the bottom surface).

FIG. 13 shows a cross sectional view of circuit board 200. FIG. 13 showsfive layers 260, 262, 264, 266, and 268. Other embodiments have lessthan or more than five layers. Layer 260, the middle layer, is aninsulating core layer. Layers 262 and 264 are routing layers, whichinclude conductive metal traces. Layers 266 and 268 include soldermasks. Connections between layers (such as layers 262 and 264) can bemade by conductive vias. In one embodiment, the circuit board is aprinted circuit board. In another embodiment, the circuit board is alead frame. Other types of circuit boards may also be used within thespirit of the present invention.

FIGS. 14-16 graphically depict the manufacturing process for creatingthe memory card according one embodiment of the present invention. FIG.14 is a side view of the memory card during the manufacturing process,prior to encapsulation. FIG. 14 depicts circuit board 200. Mounted oncircuit board 200 is die 202. Mounted on die 202 is die 204. FIG. 14shows die 202 and die 204 wire bonded to circuit board 200. FIG. 14 alsoshows passive devices 220, which can be capacitors and/or resistors. Inone embodiment, die 202 is mounted on circuit board 200 using anadhesive material. The adhesive material may be an epoxy adhesive, softsolder or any other adhesive material for mounting a die to a substrate.Die 204 is mounted on die 202 by way of an adhesive material applied tothe top surface of die 202 and the bottom surface of die 204. Moreinformation about stacking two dies on top of each other can be found inU.S. Pat. No. 5,502,289, incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. In one embodiment, the passive devices are surface mountedusing solder.

FIG. 15 shows the memory card of FIG. 14 after encapsulation. That is,using an injection mold process or a transfer mold process, moldingmaterial 280 is used to encapsulate the components of the memory card.Note that the encapsulation covers the side surfaces, front surface,back surface, and top surface of circuit board 200. The encapsulationalso covers all the components mounted on the top surface of circuitboard 200. The bottom surface of circuit board 200, which includes userI/O pins 230 and test pins 232, is not covered by the encapsulation.

Subsequent to encapsulation, a conformal contact coating 290 is appliedto a portion of the bottom surface of circuit board 200 in order tocover test pins 232. The conformal contact coating does not cover userI/O pins 230. FIG. 16 depicts the memory card after the conformalcontact coating 290 has been applied. For example, the conformal contactcoating 290 is applied to portion 24 (see FIG. 1) of the bottom surfaceof the memory card, but not to portion 22 of the memory card. Theconformal contact coating protects the test pins from electrostaticdischarge and protects the data in the memory from unwanted access viathe test pins by blocking the test pins. The coating is a conformalcontact coating because it conforms to the shape of the surface it isbeing applied to and it is in direct contact to that surface. Some othermemory cards may use a lid to cover the bottom of the circuit board.That lid is not in contact with the bottom surface of the circuit board.Rather, an air gap will exist between the bottom lid and circuit board.Additionally, because the lid is prefabricated it will not conform tothe shape of the bottom surface of the bottom of the circuit board.

In one embodiment, the application of the conformal contact coatingincludes applying a liquid directly to the bottom surface of the circuitboard. The coating then dries to a solid. In another embodiment, thecoating is applied as a film directly to the bottom surface of thecircuit board. Examples of coatings include photoresist, solder mask,epoxy, thermoplastic, and polyimide. One specific example of a suitablecoating is the PSR-400 Solder Mask from Taiyo America, Inc.,www.taivo-america.com. Examples of a film include mylar with an adhesiveor polyimide with an adhesive. An example of a suitable polyimide isKapton, by DuPont. One example of how to apply a liquid coating is touse a screen printing process.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart depicting one embodiment of a process formanufacturing a memory card according to the present invention. In step400, vias are drilled in the circuit board. In step 402, a top patternis applied to circuit board 200 to add the conductive traces andconnection regions discussed above. In step 404, a bottom pattern isapplied to the bottom surface of circuit board 200 to add the user I/Opins 230, 232 test pins and conductive traces. In step 406, solder maskis added to the top surface of circuit board 200. In step 408, thesolder mask is added to the bottom surface of circuit board 200. In step410, first die 202 is mounted to circuit board 200. In step 412, seconddie 204 is mounted to circuit board 200. In step 414, passive devices220 are mounted to circuit board 200. In step 416, wire bonds are addedto connect dies 202 and 204 to circuit board 200. In one embodiment,protective coatings are applied to the wire bonds and/or the dies. Instep 418, circuit board 200 and the components mounted on circuit board200 are subject to a transfer mold process so that the circuit board andits components are encapsulated, as described above. However, theencapsulation process of step 418 does not cover the bottom surface ofcircuit board 200.

In one embodiment, a memory card is manufactured as a unitary structure.In that case, step 420 is skipped and the process of FIG. 17 proceeds tostep 422. However, in other embodiments the memory cards are produced abatch at a time. That is, a strip of memory cards are produced at onetime and then a singulation process is performed to cut the strip intoindividualized memory cards. In the case where the memory cards areproduced at a batch at a time, step 420 includes cutting the strip toseparate the various memory cards. Step 420 is referred to assingulation.

In step 422, the memory cards are tested. In step 424, the test pins arecovered, as described above, by applying the conformal contact coatingto a portion of the bottom surface of the circuit board 200 (e.g. bottomportion 24 of FIG. 1).

Step 422 includes testing the memory cards. During the manufacturingprocess, the manufacturer may perform a bum-in test of the memory cardto verify that each of the memory cells in the memory array arefunctional. The manufacturer may then program the memory card to avoidbad memory cells. For example, the memory array may include a portion ofmemory that stores addresses for bad memory cells and pointers toreplacement memory cells. In some embodiments, the other components ofthe memory card may also be tested. Note that FIG. 17 shows that thedevices are tested and receive the conformal contact coating aftersingulation. In another embodiment, step 420 is performed after to step422; therefore, the various devices are tested and receive the conformalcontact coating prior to singulation.

FIG. 18 is a plan view of a strip of memory cards prior to singulation.FIG. 18 shows strip 500. On top of strip 500 are various instances ofthe memory cards. Each memory card is depicted in dashed lines. In oneembodiment, strip 500 includes 100 memory cards (5 wide, 20 long). Notethat other numbers of memory cards can also be manufactured on a strip.Strip 500 is manufactured by performing steps 400-418 simultaneously foreach of the memory cards on the strip. That is, the steps are performedon the strip as a whole. Step 420 is performed by cutting the strip intoseparate devices. According to one aspect of the present invention, thememory cards are not fully rectangular in their shape. Therefore, thesingulation of the strip into individual memory cards includes nonlinear(e.g. curvilinear) sawings. Such sawing can be performed efficientlywith a very thin saw with high precision and detail, such that thesawing action is very fine. Examples of the sawing devices include, forexample, a water jet cutting device, a laser cutting apparatus, a waterguided laser, a dry media cutting device, and a diamond coated wire.Water jet cutting may be the preferred cutting method given its smallcutting width (e.g. 50 microns), its ability to shape small features andits rapid cutting rate.

If the memory card fails after it is in use, then the failed memory cardcan be debugged by removing the conformal contact coating and using thetest pins to test the memory card.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the top of the memory card according toan additional embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 20 is aperspective view of the bottom of the memory card according to theembodiment of FIG. 19. Card 600 depicted in FIGS. 19 and 20 includesrounded notches 602 and 604, raised portion 606 and angled portion 608.Bottom surface 612 includes pins 620 and portion 622. Portion 622 israised from surface 612 and covers the test pins as described herein.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the top of the memory card according toan additional embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 22 is aperspective view of the bottom of the memory card according to theembodiment of FIG. 21. Card 700 depicted in FIGS. 21 and 22 includesnotch 702, raised portion 706 and angled portion 708. Bottom surface 712includes pins 720 and portion 722. Portion 722 is raised from surface712 and covers the test pins as described herein.

The description above specifically discusses memory cards. One set ofembodiments of the present invention specifically pertain to flashmemory cards, which include one or more memory arrays that utilize flashmemory technology. The embodiments explained above pertaining to memorycards are for example purposes and are not mean to limit the invention.The technology disclosed herein can also be applied to other peripheralcards that connect to a computing device and are controlled or operatedwith the computing device. One example of a removable peripheral card isa PCMCIA card. Examples of applications, in addition to memory systems,that can be implemented on peripheral cards include wirelesscommunication devices, GPS devices, cellular devices, networkinterfaces, modems, disk storage systems, etc. The present invention isnot limited to any one type of peripheral card and is meant to be usedwith many different types of peripheral cards.

The foregoing detailed description of the invention has been presentedfor purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteaching. The described embodiments were chosen in order to best explainthe principles of the invention and its practical application to therebyenable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention invarious embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of theinvention be defined by the claims appended hereto.

1. A method of making a memory card card, comprising the steps of:adding circuit elements to a circuit board, said circuit board includesa set of test terminals; testing one or more of said circuit elementsusing said test terminals; and covering said test terminals with aconformal contact coating in order to prevent access to said testterminals.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein: said step ofcovering includes applying a liquid directly to a first surface of saidcircuit board.
 3. A method according to claim 2, wherein: said liquidincludes a solder mask.
 4. A method according to claim 2, wherein: saidliquid includes a photoresist.
 5. A method according to claim 2,wherein: said liquid includes a thermoplastic.
 6. A method according toclaim 2, wherein: said liquid includes an epoxy.
 7. A method accordingto claim 2, wherein: said liquid includes polyimide.
 8. A methodaccording to claim 2, wherein: said liquid is applied using a screenprinting process.
 9. A method according to claim 1, wherein: said stepof covering includes applying a film directly to a first surface of saidcircuit board.
 10. A method according to claim 9, wherein: said filmincludes an adhesive on one surface.
 11. A method according to claim 9,wherein: said film includes mylar.
 12. A method according to claim 9,wherein: said film includes polyimide.
 13. A method according to claim1, wherein: said step of adding circuit elements includes adding a flashmemory array to said circuit board.
 14. A method according to claim 1,wherein: said step of adding circuit elements includes mounting a firstdie on said circuit board and mounting a second die on said first die.15. A method according to claim 14, wherein: said first die includes aflash memory array and said second die includes a controller.
 16. Amethod according to claim 14, wherein: said first die is wire bonded tosaid circuit board; and said second die is wire bonded to said circuitboard.
 17. A method according to claim 1, wherein: said circuit boardincludes a conductive layer and a first portion of said conductive layerforms said test terminals.
 18. A method according to claim 17, wherein:a second portion of said conductive layer forms user terminals; saiduser terminals are positioned on an outside surface of said memory card;and said user terminals are in communication with at least a subset ofsaid circuit elements.
 19. A method according to claim 1, wherein: saidstep of adding circuit elements includes performing a transfer moldprocess to encapsulate said circuit elements without covering said testterminals.
 20. A method according to claim 1, wherein: said step ofcovering is performed after said circuit board is removed from a stripof circuit boards.
 21. A method according to claim 1, wherein: said stepof covering is performed before said circuit board is removed from astrip of circuit boards.
 22. A method according to claim 1, wherein:said memory card is a flash memory card.
 23. A method according to claim22, wherein: said step of covering includes applying a liquid directlyto a first surface of said circuit board.
 24. A method according toclaim 22, wherein: said step of covering includes applying a filmdirectly to a first surface of said circuit board.
 25. A method ofmaking a peripheral card, comprising the steps of: adding circuitelements to a plurality of circuit boards of a strip of circuit boards,each of said plurality of circuit boards includes a set of testterminals; separating said connected circuit boards; testing saidcircuit elements of said circuit boards using said test terminals; andapplying a conformal contact coating on a first surface of each of saidcircuit boards to cover said test terminals and prevent access to saidtest terminals such that a particular circuit board has its testterminals covered after said particular circuit board has been tested.26. A method according to claim 25, wherein: said step of separating isperformed after said step of applying.
 27. A method according to claim25, wherein: said step of separating is performed prior to said step ofapplying.
 28. A method according to claim 25, wherein: said step ofapplying includes applying a liquid directly to a first surface of saidcircuit boards.
 29. A method according to claim 25, wherein: said stepof applying includes applying a film directly to a first surface of saidcircuit boards.
 30. A method according to claim 25, wherein: said stepof adding circuit elements includes mounting a first die on a firstcircuit board and mounting a second die on said first die; said firstdie includes a flash memory array and said second die includes acontroller; said first die is wire bonded to said first circuit board;and said second die is wire bonded to said first circuit board.
 31. Amethod according to claim 25, wherein: said peripheral card is a memorycard.
 32. A peripheral card manufactured according to a processcomprising the steps of: adding circuit elements to a circuit board,said circuit board includes a set of test terminals; testing one or moreof said circuit elements using said test terminals; and applying aconformal contact coating on a first surface of said circuit board tocover said test terminals and prevent access to said test terminals. 33.A peripheral card according to claim 32, wherein: said step of applyingincludes applying a liquid directly to a first surface of said circuitboard.
 34. A peripheral card according to claim 32, wherein: said stepof applying includes applying a film directly to a first surface of saidcircuit board.
 35. A peripheral card according to claim 32, wherein:said circuit board includes a first die mounted on said circuit boardand a second die mounted on said first die; said first die includes aflash memory array and said second die includes a controller; said firstdie is wire bonded to said circuit board; and said second die is wirebonded to said circuit board.
 36. A peripheral card according to claim32, wherein: said circuit board includes a conductive layer; a firstportion of said conductive layer forms said test terminals; a secondportion of said conductive layer forms user terminals; said userterminals are positioned on an outside surface of said peripheral card;and said circuit elements are encapsulated by a transfer mold processwithout covering said test terminals.
 37. A peripheral card according toclaim 32, wherein: said peripheral card is a memory card.
 38. Aperipheral card, comprising: a circuit board; circuit elements on saidcircuit board; a set of user terminals on said circuit board, said userterminals are in communication with at least a subset of said circuitelements; a set of test terminals on said circuit board, said testterminals are in communication with one or more of said circuitelements; an enclosure that covers a portion of said circuit board andsaid circuit elements without covering said set of user terminals andsaid set of test terminals; and a conformal contact coating on a firstsurface of said circuit board covering said test terminals andpreventing access to said test terminals.
 39. A peripheral cardaccording to claim 38, wherein: said conformal contact coating isapplied as a liquid directly to said first surface of said circuitboard.
 40. A peripheral card according to claim 38, wherein: saidconformal contact coating includes a film that is applied directly tosaid first surface of said circuit board.
 41. A peripheral cardaccording to claim 38, wherein: said circuit elements board include afirst die mounted on said circuit board and a second die mounted on saidfirst die.
 42. A peripheral card according to claim 41, wherein: saidfirst die is wire bonded to said circuit board; and said second die iswire bonded to said circuit board.
 43. A peripheral card according toclaim 42, wherein: said first die includes a flash memory array and saidsecond die includes a controller.
 44. A peripheral card according toclaim 41, wherein: said first die includes a flash memory array and saidsecond die includes a controller.
 45. A peripheral card according toclaim 38, wherein: said circuit board includes a conductive layer; afirst portion of said conductive layer forms said test terminals; asecond portion of said conductive layer forms said user terminals; andsaid user terminals are positioned on an outside surface of saidperipheral card.
 46. A peripheral card according to claim 38, wherein:said peripheral card is a memory card.
 47. A method performed for aperipheral card, comprising the steps of: testing one or more circuitelements of a first peripheral card using one or more test terminals ofsaid first peripheral card; and covering said test terminals with aconformal contact coating in order to prevent access to said testterminals.
 48. A method according to claim 47, wherein: said step ofcovering includes applying a liquid directly to said first peripheralcard.
 49. A method according to claim 47, wherein: said step of coveringincludes applying a film directly to said first peripheral card.
 50. Amethod according to claim 47, wherein: said circuit elements include aflash memory array.
 51. A method according to claim 47, wherein: saidfirst peripheral card is a memory card.